All of this is directly linked to widely unregulated, harmful practices committed by corporations. Looking back over the course of his time in office as the country approaches Inauguration Day, President Barack Obama made it one of his administration’s missions to stop this cycle of havoc.

Over the last eight years, Obama fought the influence of big companies on Capitol Hill to accomplish groundbreaking legislation. In what is considered to be his most immediate influential action on climate change, Obama used the 1906 Antiquities Act a total of 29 times — more than any other president. This law allows the president to declare federal lands as national monuments, protecting them from potential harm and environmental degradation.

It’s even more impressive that most of this change began during the political gridlock of his second term. What is clear is that Obama fought to save our planet, and what is unclear is why the Republican Party fought him on this.

“I cannot say what’s behind the Democratic-Republican split regarding the environment,” said Peter Castro, an associate professor of anthropology at Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. “In some ways I perceive it mainly as a phenomenon whipped up by the news media, with the parties going along with it as a way of mobilizing supporters.”

In the midst of the most polarized government the U.S. has ever seen, Obama persevered against the corporate big dogs. Despite the Pew Research Center’s study that 74 percent of Americans support environmental justice, Republicans and their friends on Wall Street sought their own best interest and opposed the president’s efforts.

Castro added that the Republican opposition to environmental issues such as climate change and sustainability “is supposed to be a reflection of business interests.”

Obama’s two biggest environmental deals that shook up the business world are the Paris Agreement and the Clean Air Act. These legal initiatives force corporations to transition into a sustainable future, which created conflict since the corporations have to fit this change into their budget, and going green means change.

Although the president’s heart was in the right place, his efforts have not been fully realized. It is the inconvenient truth that Obama’s legacy would have made an impact if it were made 60 years ago. His Clean Power Plan will not be in full action until 2030, and the Paris Agreement does not require nations to make complete change for another 83 years. This is pointless, considering carbon emissions released in the air 50 years ago are only taking effect now. That means that every carbon molecule that has been released since is still in the atmosphere, yet to affect Earth. Our planet is changing at a faster rate than we can adjust to, and the personal interests of our government have restricted Obama’s endeavors.

Obama has set the tone for the change that needs to be made. Although the Electoral College failed us in November, Obama utilized the gray area in the U.S. Constitution for the better. Now, we must fight back against President-elect Donald Trump’s anti-environment administration to continue Obama’s legacy.

Lydia Niles is a freshman public relations major with minors in environment and society and political science. Her column appears weekly. She can be reached at lnilesst@syr.edu and followed on Twitter @Lydia__Niles.